#aschtalia

[cherrhara]

self indulgent aschnata

[orubaid]

It’s guilty pleasure time

[sheps-shepherd]

For the worldless "I Love You" prompts - Asch and Natalia, either 3, 4, 5, 20, 38, or 47? (These kids are just too dang cute). Also I totes feel you on the pressure thing so please only do this if it is enjoyable 💛

I picked out two for you because I super hecking appreciate you <3 I hope you like them!

38. Letting them warm their cold hands under your shirt.

Natalia’s favorite season was spring. When the last snowfall had finished melting and the grass grew green again and she could start planning what flowers to put in her father’s window boxes in the coming weeks.

It was decidedly not winter, despite her love for the holidays. Too cold, too blustery, too many nights spent watching the snow fall outside her window while clutching her phone to her chest, waiting for Asch’s text that he’d gotten home safely. 

Not to mention that walking across campus in the whipping wind that came with the fall semester was one of her least favorite things to do. She’d already sacrificed her headband to spare her ears from the biting cold, and didn’t think she could sink any further into her scarf. Her fingers were freezing, even inside her gloves, no matter how many warm puffs of breath she blew into them. And considering the time on her phone was telling her that Asch was almost ten minutes late now, she was not happy; pretty fairly so, if she did say so herself. 

She was in the process of taking her glove off to call him when Natalia heard the heavy groan of a door opening a few feet from where she stood. Asch was a dark blob as he walked out of the building, the length of his ever-vibrant red hair hidden beneath the black of his winter coat. 

“I know, I know,” he said, before she could, slinging the strap of his bag over his shoulder as he came to stand in front of her. “I’m sorry, the students wouldn’t stop asking me questions. Once the professor mentioned I help grade their exams, all hell broke loose.” He blew out a breath, and it puffed out from between his lips like smoke. 

He brushed the faux fur of his hood away from his face, looked her up and down once, and said, “You look like you’re freezing.” 

“Well,” Natalia replied, sounding just a bit miffed, “we can’t all be walking space heaters.” 

Asch arched an eyebrow at her comment. “I told you that coat wasn’t going to be warm enough,” he pointed out. Natalia pursed her lips, because maybe he’d been right, but she’d been perfectly fine that morning and hadn’t expected the drop in temperature to feel as harsh as it did. She blamed the wind. 

“Take me home and you won’t have to worry about me being warm enough,” she said instead. “I know you have a report to do, but I thought we could at least-”

She cut herself off as she ducked into the crook of her elbow to sneeze. 

“-Excuse me,” she said, and punctuated it with a sniff. 

“I can come over for a few hours,” Asch said, answering her unspoken question. He reached for her as she straightened back up and tightened the knot of her scarf beneath her chin. “I can’t stay late, I promised Luke I’d help him study for his exam tomorrow morning.” 

Natalia reached beneath his hands and grabbed the zipper on his coat. “Which I’m sure you’re doing just out of the kindness of your heart,” she mused, tugging the zipper down. She watched the corner of his mouth twitch. 

“He offered to take dish duty for a week before I said anything.” 

“Ah, there it is.” 

He gave her a true smile as she pulled the zipper free and promptly slipped her arms around him. It was toasty warm beneath his coat, his body heat clinging to the fabric of his sweater where she buried her face. His arms shifted around her, wrapping her sides in the lapels of his coat as his hands rested at the small of her back. 

“You need to get a new coat,” he murmured into her hair. 

“My coat is fine,” she insisted. “And besides, I have you for when it’s not.” 

Natalia’s fingers found the hem of his sweater. Without hesitation, she slipped them under, seeking the searing warmth she’d come to associate with him. 

She felt him startle in her arms as her chilled, gloved hands pressed against his back. “Geez, Talia,” he said, squirming beneath the new chill on his skin, but he didn’t push her away. “I didn’t take that long.”

“Space heater,” she repeated, and he squirmed some more as her equally cold nose pressed against his neck. 

Asch sighed, resigned, and Natalia smiled. 

“I have a blanket in my car,” he said after a moment. “You can wrap yourself up in that until we get home.” 

“Okay,” Natalia replied, making no move to let him go. She could feel her fingers beginning to spark with warmth, rejuvenating like spring flowers pushing up through the ground, and drummed them idly on his back. 

He tsked into her hair. “Spoiled,” he chimed, like they didn’t both know that was partly his fault. 

She lifted her head to beam up at him. His lips were cold when he kissed her. 

Natalia didn’t like the winter, but at least she had the boy she loved to keep her warm. 

20. Washing their back/hair in the shower.

One of the things Asch had to accept when he and Natalia moved in together was the fact that he couldn’t take showers alone anymore. He’d expected that to bother him. Maybe it was because it was Natalia, but it didn’t. 

Unless she was sleeping or in the middle of something she didn’t feel she could step away from, she showed up in the bathroom like clockwork; a few minutes after he’d turned the water on, right when he’d finished wetting the length of his long hair, he’d hear the door creak open and she would call out, “You haven’t been in too long, have you?” 

What was he supposed to do, say no? Besides, having someone else to help him wash his hair was a nice perk, he had to admit. 

Her timing was a little off today, though. He’d already finished washing the shampoo out of his hair when he heard the door open. 

“You are not going to believe who I just got off the phone with.” 

She didn’t wait for him to respond before she was telling him all about the associate that had called her to complain about a project they were meant to pitch tomorrow. He listened to her voice echo off the walls, to her clothes slapping against the rug where she threw them off. 

“Jackass,” he offered when the curtain pulled back and he saw her, cheeks flushed with anger and her blonde hair hanging wildly around her face without her headband to keep it back. 

“Of all the people I had to work with this time,” she continued, yanking the curtain closed again. She slipped past him to stand beneath the water, her back to him as she did so. “I swear he does it on purpose.” 

Asch stretched past her for the washcloth as she continued on. He lathered it up with soap before gently pressing it to her shoulder blade. 

She didn’t falter in her words as he carefully made his way down her back, dragging the cloth along both of her shoulders before lowering it to massage down each knob of her spine. He finished at her lower back, rubbing in broad strokes back and forth until she had said all she needed to get off her chest. 

When she was quiet, he turned her so she faced him, and the water sprayed against her back. The anger had left her face, replaced with a tiredness that dulled her eyes. 

Asch reached around her, smoothed his hand along her skin to help wash the last of the soap off. She leaned into him, humming when he trailed upwards to thumb circles against her neck. 

“He’s a jackass,” he said again. “He’s probably having a conniption because he knows you’re smarter than him.” Natalia peered up at him. “And because you are, you’re going to have no problem working with whatever bullshit he threw at you, and you’re going to nail it tomorrow.” 

He paused for a second, letting his words sink in, then said, “We’ll work with whatever bullshit he threw at you. I’ll help you revise it when we’re done in here.” 

“Really?” 

“Of course.” 

Natalia exhaled the last of her sour mood. Without it, she looked even more tired, but that didn’t stop her from reaching for him. She ran her fingers up and through his bangs, gently raking them away from his face and over his head like he kept them when they were dry. 

“Did you already wash your hair?” she asked softly, hopefully, and Asch could never tell her no. 

“Washing it twice won’t hurt anything.” 

She smiled up at him. 

[starrisunset]

Crossposting from my Twitter!! Doodled some ship requests

tps://twitter.com/kriselii/status/1251288301341827072?s=21

[aratanaruu]

[meaningofbirth]

WA → NY

Happy holidays @reijimitsurugi!! I was your secret santa for @talesofsecretsanta2018!!! I was really excited to see you wanted Asch, since he’s my favorite!! I’ve been thinking about doing a road trip au like this for a while, I really hope you like it!

Fandom: Tales of the Abyss Pairing: Asch/Natalia Word count: 3,899 Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17179538 Summary:  When he had heard how long it was going to take for his mother’s medicine to be shipped to her, Asch immediately began planning a cross-country road trip to pick it up for her himself. He was going to do it alone, fourteen hours at a time, three days there, and three days back. So how did he end up in the backseat of Guy’s Subaru with his twin brother and childhood crush?

“No stops,” Asch insisted from his place behind the driver’s seat, “We’re going to New York for Mother’s medicine, not to sight-see.”

Guy rolled his eyes as he started up the car. “Come on, Asch, lighten up. Susanne has enough medicine left to last her two weeks, we can afford to enjoy the trip.”

Asch kept his arms crossed, sitting stiff straight in his seat. “No more than one per day, then.”

“Why do you always have to be so serious?” Luke asked from the seat beside him, “You’re allowed to have fun, you know.”

“Of course I know that! I just don’t want to waste time, idiot.”

At this point in the argument, Natalia turned sideways in the passenger seat to look at Asch. “You’re worried about your mother,” she said kindly, “But Guy is right, she’s not in any danger. She’ll be safe until we get back.”

Asch avoided her gaze, every muscle remaining as stiff as before despite his heart melting in his chest. “One stop per day,” he repeated stubbornly, though his voice had lost its sharp edge.

And so they hit the road from Seattle, heading East. Asch put in his headphones and leaned against the door, obstinately avoiding as much conversation as he could. Behind the noise of the music, he could hear the other three talking and laughing as they sped down I-90.

“There are a lot of aviation museums along the way,” Guy was stating with a certain glint in his eye, “It would be a waste not to stop at one or two of them.”

“Well, on your day to choose our one stop, we can go to one of them,” Luke laughed.

Asch ignored them, and turned his music up louder. He had planned on taking this trip by himself. It would have been more comfortable that way. For one, he would be in the driver’s seat instead of crammed in the back with Luke, and everyone’s pillows and blankets. But these three never knew when to leave him alone, so of course he got roped into this big road trip event.

Halfway through the first day, Luke and Guy started singing along to classic 80s songs at an absolutely unreasonable volume. Asch couldn’t drown them out no matter how he tried, and finally popped out an earbud to shout at them.

“Can you tone it down?!”

“C’mon, Asch, we’re having a good time,” Luke protested, “You can sing along, too, no one’s stopping you.”

“Absolutely not.”

They resumed singing. Asch wasn’t sure he would survive this trip.

They stopped for lunch, and Asch insisted they eat on the road so they wouldn’t waste time. He traded out with Guy, giving him a break from driving and sending him to the back seat with Luke.

If Asch was driving, he was going to pick the music. He unplugged Guy’s phone and tossed it back to him, taking over the aux cord and resuming the album he had been listening to through his headphones: The Black Parade.

He pulled out of the Taco Bell parking lot, already feeling more at peace, when Guy laughed. “You still listen to this?”

Asch scowled. “Don’t make fun of me!”

Guy held up his hands. “Don’t get defensive! It’s just interesting how your music taste hasn’t changed in the last five years.”

Natalia giggled from the passenger seat beside him, and Asch felt his ears turn red.

“It’s good music!”

They stopped for the night somewhere in Montana, and booked two rooms in a cheap motel. “You two can decide who sleeps on the floor, but I’m taking one of the beds,” Asch told Guy and Luke as they entered their room.

“Why can’t you share with Luke?” Guy countered, “You guys are twins, surely you’ve shared a bed before.”

Asch bristled. “Why does that mean we have to share now?!”

“It’s fine,” Luke said dismissively. “I’ll take the floor.”

Guy opened his mouth to protest, but Asch beat him to it. “Why do you always take that so easily?! Grow a backbone already!”

Nineteen years of dealing with Asch’s temper left Luke unfazed. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’m taking half the bed, then.”

“Fine!”

Asch got everyone up early the next morning, and they hit the road with donuts. It was Natalia’s turn to drive, and Asch prepared to fight Luke and Guy for shotgun, but to his surprise, they surrendered it to him easily, with these smug little looks on their faces.

“What do you want to listen to?” Asch asked with a certain consideration that he reserved only for Natalia. She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to him so he could plug it in.

“Just put my library on shuffle.”

Natalia’s music library was mostly musical theatre, with some movie soundtracks and other classical music sprinkled in. It wasn’t anything that Asch would usually listen to, but it was fitting for Natalia, and it made him smile, just a little. He didn’t put his headphones in as long as she was driving.

By the time they stopped for lunch on the second day, Asch had pulled his hair back in a braid, deciding he was no longer willing to fight the long strands in the cramped space. They stopped at McDonald’s at Luke’s request, and this time, Asch’s wish to stay on the road was overruled by the other three, who wanted an excuse to stretch their legs.

While Asch ate his Big Mac in the little booth inside, he could feel Natalia’s eyes on him. He met her eyes, and her cheeks turned pink. He felt his own face heat up in response.

“What?” he asked her, and she shook her head quickly.

“It’s nothing! I just don’t see you with your hair pulled back like that often.”

Asch tugged at the end of his braid, suddenly embarrassed. “It’s just a hassle to have long hair loose on a road trip, you know?” For some reason he felt the need to defend his hair choice.

“I know,” Natalia said, and Asch felt silly for being defensive, when Natalia showed no accusation. “It suits you.”

Asch felt a tiny smile tug at his lips, but it fell back into a frown when Luke elbowed him.

“She likes your stupid fancy hair,” he teased, with a big mischievous grin.

Asch was going to murder his brother.

It was an unspoken rule that Natalia got shotgun if she wasn’t driving. Asch was sure that if any of the others called it over her, she would let them have it, but they all left the seat open for her anyway. So when it was Luke’s turn to drive, Asch wound up in the back again.

Luke’s turn was shorter than everyone else’s, because the brat was a speed demon and had terrible road rage. He made everyone nervous and irritable, and after a couple short hours, Guy took the wheel from him.

Asch had returned to his headphones, attempting to just nap the hours away. It was hard to find just the right napping position in the backseat of a car, but Asch had finally gotten comfortable, and was dozing off—

Luke punched him hard in the shoulder.

Asch jumped out of his half-asleep state, tearing his headphones from his ears. “What the HELL, Luke!” he yelled.

“Yellow slug bug!” Luke answered innocently, pointing out his window.

Asch was really going to murder his brother.

Even with Asch pushing for them to stay on the road as much as possible, they were behind schedule to arrive in New York. Luke and Guy had not passed up their One Allowed Stop each day, and had even overruled Asch’s wishes to keep bathroom breaks to a minimum. It seemed no one could take their breaks at the same time. Asch had lost count of the scenic rest stops he had been forced to stretch at.

The third day on the road marked Natalia’s day to pick a stop. Luke bothered her through the entire day about picking somewhere. “Don’t pressure me, Luke,” she chastised him. “If I can only choose one stop, I’m going to choose wisely!”

At the end of the day, she finally settled on a botanical garden in Wisconsin. The sun was already low in the sky when they pulled in. Asch got ready to stretch his legs out across the back seat and wait for the others to have their fun and come back, as he had done on their longer stops for the past two days.

He was settling in with his back against the car door, when Natalia opened it, and he almost toppled out onto the ground.

“Hey!”

Natalia covered her mouth, trying to keep from laughing. “I’m sorry,” she said, as Asch righted himself in the seat, turning so he could look at her. “Will you come in with us?”

Asch was caught off guard. “I was just… going to wait out here,” he said stupidly.

“I know,” Natalia said, offering him a hand, “But I want you to come with us.”

Asch was soft on Natalia, and he knew it. He ran a hand through his gelled bangs, which were falling down into his face, pulled loose from the many hours trying to sleep in the car. He couldn’t say no to Natalia. At least not when she seemed so sincere, with her hand outstretched like that.

“Okay,” he said finally, taking her hand and getting out of the car.

Natalia led the way into the garden, with Luke and Guy following, and Asch trailing just a bit behind them. The evening air was crisp and refreshing after three full days in the car. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

A sunset slowly spread through the sky as they walked, bringing out the deeper hues of the flowers, and turning Natalia’s hair golden. All four of them were dressed in sweats—any attempt to look presentable had dwindled after the first day of driving—but Natalia was just as radiant as ever. She smiled as she admired the garden, and Asch couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He had loved Natalia since they were kids. She was confident, a born leader, and a genuinely kind and good person. He admired everything about her.

Natalia turned around to smile at him, pulling him out of his thoughts. “The sunset reminds me of when we were kids,” she said. “It makes your hair look like a flame.”

Asch imagined his face looked like it was on fire, too.

“You remember that from when we were kids?”

“Of course I do. It’s a memory I hold dear.”

Asch gaped at her. “That’s a silly thing to hold onto,” he insisted, looking away from her. “We were just kids.”

Natalia crossed her arms. “If it’s so silly, why were you able to recall it so quickly?” she challenged.

Asch had no argument for that. Natalia fixed him with her fierce gaze, and he met it again.

“I still want to change the world,” she continued, “With or without you. But if you’re willing, I’d like to do it with you.”

She turned and walked further down the path before he had the chance to formulate an answer. Guy and Luke both stood just off to the side, eyebrows raised, jaws ajar. Asch shot them both a glare. “Don’t say anything,” he growled.

“I didn’t!” Luke argued, bristling a bit at Asch’s preemptive defense.

“This isn’t any of our business,” Guy cut in before they could start arguing. “But don’t you think you should go after her?”

“You’re right,” Asch snapped at him, “It’s none of your business.” He knew he was being stubborn. He knew that if Luke and Guy weren’t there, he probably would have gone after her. But whatever she had meant by her final statement, Asch wanted to keep private between them. He turned in the opposite direction. “I’m going back to the car. Don’t take too long.”

The trip should have been easily completed in four days, but when they started out their fourth, they were still facing fifteen hours of driving. Asch finally put his foot down, and insisted that they only take necessary stops until they reached New York. The other three gave in and didn’t fight him too much on it, maybe because it was his turn to pick the stop, so he had the right to choose not to stop at all.

Asch picked up driving after lunch, when they were still only just entering Ohio. “Let’s just call it a night somewhere in Pennsylvania, and finish the trip tomorrow,” Guy reasoned. “It’ll be easier on all of us.” At this point, they were all getting tired and cranky. Asch didn’t want to take an extra day. If they took five days just to get there, it would be another week before he could get home. But he was too exhausted to argue about it. He just said nothing, unwilling to either agree or disagree. The consensus around him, though, seemed to be that they would stop in Pennsylvania.

By the time evening hit, Guy and Luke had both passed out in the back seat. Natalia was following the shape of the hills outside her window, humming along softly to the quiet tune that came through the car radio—they had all grown tired of loud music and singing along by now.

Darkness fell over the highway, and the quiet stretched on between himself and Natalia while the others slept. They were two thirds of the way through Pennsylvania now. If they pressed on, they could be in Manhattan in three hours.

“I’m gonna keep going,” Asch said quietly.

Natalia turned her attention from the passenger window to look at Asch’s silhouette, illuminated by the street lights.

“Okay.”

Asch glanced at her, taking his eyes off the road for just a moment. “You won’t argue?”

“I don’t mind. No one’s yelling anymore. It’s almost like I’m just sitting here with you.”

The quiet resumed once more. The soft classical piece over the white noise of the engine was calming, yet somehow, Asch’s heart pounded in his chest.

“I still do want to change the world, you know,” he proclaimed after several minutes.

“I do, too,” Natalia agreed simply, giving him time to continue.

“We always said we would when we were grown up. I’m nineteen now, but I still don’t think I’m really grown up. But I think as long as we’re together, we can really do something to make a real difference, one day.”

He couldn’t read Natalia’s expression in the darkness, but when she answered, her voice was filled with emotion. “I agree wholeheartedly.”

Asch reached between them and took Natalia’s hand where it rested on her seat. She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, and he felt butterflies erupt in his stomach.

It was almost midnight when Luke finally woke up. “Hey, what time is it?” he grumbled. “I thought we were stopping in Pennsylvania!”

“If you’re unconscious, your vote doesn’t count,” Asch argued. “We’re twenty minutes outside Manhattan, so relax.”

Everyone crashed the moment they got into the motel, and for the first time since beginning the trip, they all slept in. Even Asch had to admit they needed a day outside the car, so they decided to spend the day in Manhattan before they began the long trip back to the West coast.

Right after breakfast, Guy dragged Luke out to some aviation museum he wanted to visit, leaving Asch with the room to himself. Asch took his time getting ready for the day, enjoying his first moment of solitude in almost a week. It felt nice to dress in real clothes and let his hair down again. Around noon, he finally tied his shoes and left the room to go in search of the pharmacy that had his mother’s medicine.

The door across the hall opened at the same time as his, and he and Natalia blinked at each other. Asch wasn’t sure what his face must have looked like, but Natalia laughed at him. “Fancy meeting you here,” she giggled.

“Where are you going?” Asch asked.

“I was just going to walk around the city. I didn’t think you were still here.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m going down to the pharmacy now.”

“Do you mind if I come along?”

“I don’t mind.”

She fell in step beside him as they exited the motel and headed up Park Avenue.

After so much trouble getting to it, the medicine was surprisingly easy to obtain. The prescription had been filled by the pharmaceutical company and was waiting for him to pick it up in his mother’s name.

“Well, that took less time than expected,” Asch grumbled to the bottle of medication in his hand. He pocketed it.

“We can take a walk through Central Park,” Natalia suggested.

Asch smiled at her a little, the past couple of days with her having boosted his confidence. “Like a date?”

Natalia’s cheeks turned pink. “Perhaps like a date.”

Asch scuffed the sole of his shoe across the ground, smiling to himself. In Central Park, they were surrounded by people, dogs, pigeons—but Natalia filled up his whole world. It didn’t matter if everyone or no one was there with them.

Natalia took a deep breath. “That’s the moment I fell in love with you, you know.”

Asch stopped walking, his head snapping up to look at her. “What?”

“The memory we talked about the other day. You said it was silly that I held onto it. But when you promised me that we’d make a difference together… that’s when I fell in love with you.”

Asch’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he figured out how to say words again. “That was like… ten years ago.”

Natalia’s face was burning, but she kept her gaze level with his. “Yes. It was.”

Asch was having a harder time holding her gaze. Natalia was intense. “I’ve changed since then, you know.”

Natalia shook her head. “You’ve grown. If anything, you’ve changed into an even better person.”

It’s not that Asch never guessed at Natalia’s feelings for him. Looking back on their years together, this conversation should have happened a long time ago. But Asch’s insecurities would tell him that he guessed wrong, or that, of course, Natalia would surpass him and do good in the world on her own. Now, as he looked at her, all of that felt ridiculous.

“I love you, Natalia,” he blurted.

Natalia’s arms wrapped around his back, and her face pressed into his shoulder.

“I love you too, Asch.”

Asch felt warmth shoot through him, all the way to his fingertips. He brought his arms up around her shoulders and held her tight. He was allowed to have this. He wanted to cherish her forever.

He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Let’s get dinner on our own tonight, instead of meeting up with Luke and Guy. I’ve had enough of them.”

Natalia giggled. “They sure give you a hard time, don’t they? I’ll send Luke a text so they don’t wait up on us.”

They saw a lot of Manhattan, and yet Asch felt like he saw none of it at all. His eyes were always on Natalia, his thoughts on the warmth of her hand in his. With everything unsaid between them now laid out in the open, it was easy to be with Natalia. He felt free. He let her see his smile more than he probably ever had.

As the sun went down, the temperature dropped, and Asch noticed Natalia trying to curl into her knit sweater as they made the trek back to their motel. Asch shucked off his hoodie and draped it over her shoulders.

“You’ll get cold!” Natalia protested.

Asch shook his head. “I’m fine. Take it.” Natalia looked at him for a moment, considering whether to challenge him further, but gave in and brought the hoodie closer around herself. Asch chuckled and pulled the hood up over her head. “It swallows you up.”

She peeked out from under the hood to smile brightly at him. “It’s warm. Thank you.”

Asch didn’t feel cold at all, even in just the thin t-shirt he was left with.

They reached the motel and climbed the stairs to their floor. “We’ll have to get up early again tomorrow to head out,” Asch mused. Natalia hummed her agreement. They reached their section of the hall and stopped, facing each other between the opposing doors.

Asch looked at her. He wanted to kiss her. And suddenly, he realized he could.

He gently pushed the hood off her head, and ran his hand under her jaw, caressing the side of her neck gently. Her hair tickled his fingers as she leaned into his touch, and he tilted his head to kiss her.

Her lips were just as soft as they looked, moving slowly against his. Her hands found his waist and clutched onto his t-shirt, and Asch’s breath caught in his throat.

He could have kissed her all night, but he finally made the decision to pull back before he got too carried away. His thumb stroked her cheek gently. “Goodnight, Natalia.” He took a step back toward the door to his shared room, across the hall from hers, but she didn’t let go of his shirt.

“Don’t go yet,” she said softly.

Asch swallowed. “Okay,” he found himself saying, before he had the chance to think it over.

Maybe he would kiss her all night.

Asch stood in the hall at 7am, staring at the door to his shared room with Luke and Guy. He and Natalia had spent half the night kissing, the other half talking, and finally passed out tangled up in each other’s arms. He had loved every second of it, but now he wondered why it never crossed his mind that he would have to face his brother and his friend after not returning to the room all night.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. Guy was crouched on the floor, packing up his duffel bag. He looked up when Asch entered, a clear smirk on his face.

“Don’t,” Asch warned before he could even open his mouth.

Luke peeked out from the bathroom with his toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. “Di’ you spen’ da nigh’ with Nadalia?!” he shouted with a mouthful of toothpaste.

Asch ran his hands over his face. “It’s none of your business!” he yelled back at him, shoving past him to throw his things into his bag.

Luke and Guy kept up their smug act as they packed up the car. Asch got in the backseat, ready to pop in his headphones and spend another five days trying desperately to ignore them. The backseat door opposite him opened, and Asch kept his eyes on his phone, refusing to look at his brother.

“Luke, you can take the front seat.”

Asch’s head snapped up at Natalia’s voice, and he found her climbing into the back, scooting to the middle seat so they were closer.

Asch’s demeanor warmed as she took his hand. Perhaps the second half of this trip wouldn’t be so bad.

Looking back, the first half hadn’t been so terrible, either.

[dimensionslip]

Tales of the Stage - Those Who Inherit The Power of Lorelei - EMOTIONAL ACT (August 23, 2018)

What a long day it was!

In a nutshell, today's stage play was a lot more serious as promised (in contrast to how crazy the Yokohama stage　play was). It definitely felt more like Asch's story this time around, and anyone who adores him is very much in for a treat. There were also a lot more scenes with the Six God-Generals and Noir, with the Abyss party members taking more of a backseat this time around. I think this might be the closest we'll ever get to an Asch side for Tales of the Abyss. Aschtalia shippers will also love it a lot.

After the stage play, there was a talk show with Chihiro Suzuki (Luke's voice actor), Kazuki Yao (Dist's voice actor), Yuya Arai (Asch's stage actor), Orito Kasahara (Dist's stage actor), and Shunichi Takahashi (Jade's stage actor). Which, you can probably guess, is the reason why I picked this day to go, besides my already planned Saturday and Sunday viewings.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my personal experience for today, as well as a plot and talk show summary I've drawn up to the best of my abilities and memory!

Before the Stage Play

After hearing that Jade sold out pretty quickly yesterday, I took no chances for the merch line and arrived two hours early before they started selling stuff. It was a long wait under the sun as they had us line up outside the venue before letting us in 30 minutes before 4pm (the start of sales).

As I was the second in line, I managed to get everything I wanted! I lined up again a little later because I was curious about the items that sold out. The Dist bromide (Yokohama Arena version) and acrylic was the first to run out in about 20 minutes. Legretta's bromide (Yokohama Arena version) also sold out at around the same time. Not too long after, Jade's acrylic keychain also sold out. I'm so glad I came in early to get them, but man, they didn't really seem to stock too much of everything except Boy Asch, Luke, and Asch.

The wait for the theater opening itself (6pm) was made bearable by the fact that I managed to make a friend (aka the person who was as early as I was in lining up). Both of us are Jade and Dist fans (with matching Jade dolls too and what not), and it seems we both took the bait regarding the varied talk shows per day (today was Jade and Dist's turn).

Once the theater gates opened, we got the postcard (today was Jade and Dist) that changes for each showing. There were also a good bit of flowers. Jade, Dist, Tear, and Asch have the most.

Stage Play Summary

Note: Apparently some of these scenes were different from Day 1's show. As I have not gone to the said show, I do not know which is different or the same, so I'll be updating this on Saturday again to report on which scenes were unique to Day 2.

Before the stage play, Noir and her lackey Dino (if I'm getting the name right) fooled around a bit onstage. Noir's bromide sold out and Dino was talking excitedly about it. He also opened a blind box can badge in front of Noir, hoping he'd get Noir. He got Ion instead, which Noir pinned to her uhh... chest wrap, or whatever it is you call her clothes. Dino started taking a lot of pictures of her and kind of got skeevy a little later and got bonked by Noir as a result.

Kazuki Yao (as Dist) narrated the story introduction, complete with Dist's trademark laugh. He made it a point to emphasize that Jade was his rival.

The story opens with boy Asch escaping, and Dist running after him. Dist got a clunked on the head for his trouble, Van reassured him that it's not a problem that Asch escaped. Asch got stopped at the gates and was laughed at, and everything more or less proceeds as the Abyss plot did.

The boy Asch actor didn't join in the Karma dance, but he did appear in several of Asch's dream/nightmare sequences/flashbacks. It was sprinkled throughout the play and was a nice touch, and definitely added to the overall Asch-feel of the stage play.

As with the Yokohama stageplay, the Karma dance was montage-y at some parts for the God-Generals. Also since I pay extra attention to Jade, he somersaults into the stage, sights Dist, then walks away when the latter tries to chase him.

They had some pre-game scenes here that were never in the game or anime, aka an opportunity to showcase how stuff in Daath went. Like, Anise being busy with Ion. Dist presenting Tokunaga to her was also included here, as well as a bit of showcasing of how their awkward friendship works. I love it so much. There was also Arietta having some trouble with paperwork and trying to get Sync to help her. Legretta eventually ends up aiding her instead, and she kinda felt motherly here. Van also had a fatherly moment when the God-Generals met up with him and Arietta presented her paperwork to him proudly, but it did come off as a little creepy given what we know of Van.

But yeah, during that meeting, Van also poked fun at Asch's dislike of octopus as a joke. Basically it all felt like they were the dysfunctional family that the anime or game semi-implied but did not quite emphasize.

Luke and Tear end up in what I suspect to be Cheagle Woods, but the area wasn't named. The main party also had their entrances at around this point (including Guy and Natalia, who aren't slated to join until way later, game-wise). Guy's introduction ("Enter the amazing Guy") kept on getting interrupted by Natalia, which was hilarious.

Later on, we get to see a similar scene as the Yokohama Arena showing, where Asch visits Nam Cobanda Isle to make a deal with Noir. Noir's backstory also comes out here. A random kid gives Asch his most treasured possession, which is a doll.

I think this was around this time that Asch had another one of his dreams about the past again. As I've mentioned earlier, this is a recurring thing throughout the stage play. They also got the Natalia actor (I think) to dress up as child Natalia for these flashbacks.

There was a huge skip to what I assume to be Deo Pass (prior to Akzeriuth), where the party battles it out with the Six God-Generals. Natalia sees Asch's face and they end up having a long moment staring at each other, and she seems to realize something, but does not have much time to dwell on it. Guy and Sync get some curse slot action going here as well.

Akzeriuth more or less proceeds as it does, including the Abyss classic "ore wa warukunee". However, at Ortion Cavern, there was an added scene where Jade talks about his past with Dist, and there's an enacted flashback for it. For this adaptation, younger Jade and Dist (in lab coats) were in Hod when it was collapsing, and that's how Jade came to know about Van's real name. Note that in the game, Jade had never actually stepped a foot inside Hod. Even if this wasn't canon compliant, it was still interesting to see because, yay, more Jade and Dist scenes. Action scenes, that is. Though Dist (Saphir then), wasn't really any good with them battles and just kept on trying to dodge things.

It was around this time (or a little earlier), that Mohs was talking to Largo about something interesting that he heard (aka the circumstances of Natalia's birth), and was heavily hinting that he knew something about Largo too. Largo just brushes it off.

Speaking of Largo, earlier he also had a moment with Asch, something like acknowledging that they have the same feelings regarding a certain issue. I think it was Natalia-related, but my memory is a little fuzzy at this point in time.

There was a part where Asch was more apparently in pain, and Dist, like in the Yokohama Arena showing, ends up mocking-slash-word-vomiting at Asch regarding his state (the Big Bang). While Dist was going on his spiel, Noir and Dino were nearby, poorly hiding as they overheard everything. Once Asch chases off Dist, Noir voices some concern over his well-being, but also ends up reporting that Natalia is in trouble (Mohs was going up with his reveal regarding Meryl and Natalia being a "fake" princess). Asch ignores his extreme pain and runs off.

As with the Yokohama Arena show, we got to do the Natalia chant with the penlights along with Noir and the Dark Wings.

Asch and Van also have their battle here, which Asch has the upper hand in until he gets a seizure, which Van takes advantage of by stabbing his arm and literally twisting a knife (err, sword) into it. Same as the Yokohama Arena show, and just as "oww" to watch.

Absorption Gate was also another opportunity to showcase some of the party's talents. I was only expecting somersaults and stunts from Jade (who delivered!), but Tear also had her own cartwheels and it was pretty impressive. Van still had his dance numbers but they were very much shortened. Also Jade featured quite prominently in the Absorption Gate battles, I feel. And there even was a part where he seemed to be dancing it off with Van.

Sync was in the Absorption Gate battle and once his mask broke and he got on this diatribe, he committed suicide with a sword. Later on, he gets revived along with Van.

Luke and Asch receive their parts of the Key of Lorelei. Asch has a scene with Noir at around this time too, where he asks Noir to return the doll he received from the child earlier on in the stage play. But something happened to the doll's face, I think? Dino said something but I wasn't able to catch all of it.

Then there's a huge skip to Eldrant, where the party have their final showdown with the Six God-Generals. Natalia and Asch have a moment too over here. So we have the following:

 Anise vs Arietta: Poor Arietta, she had that scene where she hallucinates her mother and Ion before she dies.

Jade vs Dist: Jade makes quick work of Dist's robots after going "Sayonara, Saphir". Which did not feel as heartfelt as the game or anime, but I'm glad they included that. The battle ends when Jade steals Dist's flowery wheels and Dist chases after him.

Tear vs Legretta: Legretta has more or less the same death scene lines, with Tear being equally devastated.

Natalia vs Largo: Quite similar to the game as well, with Largo being proud of his daughter before dying, and Natalia calling him father

Guy (and later on Anise) vs Sync: Similar to the anime, and Sync has a moment where he impersonates Ion in the heat of battle, which throws off Anise

Luke vs Asch: Similar to how it goes in the game, with a few twists. Luke sees Asch getting turned into a pincushion and was definitely very hesitant to leave him like that.

All of the God-Generals except Dist dies. There is a scene after Asch dies where the Natalia in his dream finally finds him (prior to that, it was always him just chasing after Dream!Natalia), and gets the flower crown, plus a realization of the place he belongs in. We also get to see (briefly) the God-Generals that have died in the said sequence. A good number of people were in tears at this point.

In the final battle against Van, Asch from the beyond gives Luke a pep talk. After which, Luke uses Lost Fon Drive to defeat Van. And I guess it's time for a small random note--everyone in the party (plus Asch) got to use their Mystic Artes throughout the stage play, except for Jade. But that aside, the post-Eldrant scene was cut a little short, with only Tear saying her piece about wanting Luke to come back. But Luke and Jade do share a nod before it cuts to Luke fulfilling his promise to Lorelei.

They tried to recreate the whole Luke-falling-to-the-core scene as faithfully as they can. I think that they could not have the Luke stage actor carry Asch the whole time, so they substituted for a projection. Still was nice.

"The Look of that Day" starts playing, and we get the epilogue scene, which proceeds more or less as it did in the game and the previous stage plays (with the Luke stage actor in the Mr. Ending costume), BUT. Besides using a more Lorelei-ish voice for him (it's the Mr. Ending voice, overlapped with some other voice), we get a silhouette of Asch too (in a similar costume, iirc) after Mr. Ending exits the stage.

When I looked around and the lights went on, it seemed that more people were in tears by the time the after talk show was to start.

After Talk Show Summary

Kazuki Yao was dressed up in a flowery print Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo, with a t-shirt that had a glittery skull on it. It was a highly unexpected turn of events and earned many laughs.

Chi-chan made sure to emphasize we're getting Double Dist today. And kept calling Jade's corkscrew a dragon screw.

Some of the questions and answers I can remember (paraphrased):

(1) What thing did you have to be careful about when portraying your character? Yao: Apparently he thought Dist was an "okama" (roughly "drag queen"), but in the middle of recording, he was told that Dist is not an okama and it was difficult to adjust. Kasahara: He did a lot of research, and tried his best to imitate Yao's voice for Dist. (he's playing through Abyss and I think got Shiro no Ashita and Tsuioku no Jade manga) Takahashi: Jade's spectacularly long hair. (which I imagine got in the way in a lot of stunts... he needed to keep flipping it away lol)

I can't remember what Arai said for Asch, unfortunately.

(2) Since we have Double Dist today, name something good about Dist. Suzuki: Very forward-looking and positive. Arai: He has a beautiful color. (said after facing Dist and looking at him for a long time) Takahashi: Let me just describe what happened when it was the Jade stage actor's turn. > Dist and Jade face each other and are sitting way close. > Jade: (after a long stare) Nothing. > Dist: (looking affronted) Ehh??! There must be something!!

If I recall correctly, Jade reaffirms the no, but definitely, shortly after this, Dist starts playfully grabbing Jade's knees and goes all "JEIDOOOO". Kasahara-san and Takahashi-san were so cute together...

Anyway, the winners for the picture-taking lottery were announced at the end of the talk show. Didn't win, but I did have a lot of nice memories to take home, which I feel was very much precious in itself.

Personal Thoughts

As with the previous stage plays, I feel it's best to watch this while being well aware of TOA's story. They skip around a lot and omit a lot of things, and I feel it's easier to appreciate the additions with that said background in hand.

I really loved the stage play as an Asch side type of deal. It's a refreshing way of looking at the story, and as I've mentioned, they really made good in making this feel like it's Asch's story. The party members taking the sidelines (including Luke) was a consequence of this, but it all felt natural. I liked seeing more of the Six God-Generals too.

Accounting for my Jade bias, I'm satisfied with regard to his level of presence in an Asch-centric story. I think he had even more stunts here than the last one he was in, but that could be my wishful imagination at work. I also feel his character was a lot more interesting with Dist around, rather than a standalone.

Asch was definitely the star of the show, but I still love Kasahara's Dist. He's such a great Dist and I'm glad they got him on board. His research certainly looks like it paid off--he looks the part and acts the part. I think a lot of people are charmed by his performance too, which also may factor in to Dist running out today (besides today being Jade and Dist talk show day), and during the last TalesFes. I also noticed that people in the trade search on Twitter have been searching for his karaoke trading card too (Jade, of course, is still the crowning king of rare).

I still feel that Reo Kawamura's Guy is a bit lacking, but he had a lot more to do this stage play, so it wasn't as bad as the previous stage play in Yokohama Arena. As far as successors to Kou Hosokawa's Guy was, I think he's fine--it's just that Hosokawa's performance feels difficult to top, in my opinion.

I cannot tell which among the stage play scenes were different or added for the day, so I guess I'll discover on Saturday what may have changed. I definitely look forward to that and the talk show, in any case. Will post again on Saturday and Sunday with the said differences, but until then, I hope you enjoyed this report! If you have any questions that I have not addressed, please feel free to drop by my ask box!

[donutous]

Merry Christmas @meaningofbirth !!!!! im your secret santa~ 

I was really happy to see that you love asch and natalia, i love them too!!!  THANKS FOR HAVING GOOD TASTE....best prompt ever....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! hope you had a good one!!